Investigation of the Essential Oil of Ormenis africana from Morocco: Revision of Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity

Abstract- The essential oil composition from the aerial parts of Ormenis africana (Asteraceae), an endemic species from Morocco, has been investigated by GC/MS. A total of 31 compounds were identified, representing 77%. After fractionation by column chromatography, the main compound was isolated and its structure elucidated by NMR spectroscopy. The essential oil was dominated by oxygenated compounds with spathulenol (45.8%) followed by camphor (7.1%), -cadinol (5.9%) and -bisabolol (5.9%) as the main compounds. This oil can be classified as spathulenol-type according to its spathulenol content. In vitro the antibacterial activity of the whole essential oil against three Gram positive (Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus C) bacteria and three Gram negative (Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeroginosa) bacteria, showed significant results. Keywords: Asteraceae, Ormenis africana, Essential oil, Spathulenol, Antibacterial activity.